Medicine
“Why do you want to be a doctor/study medicine?”
This is one of the many questions you are certain to be asked over the next few years. Whatever your reasons for wanting to become a doctor, you should be prepared for a highly competitive application process and years of intensive study with a career that involves long and often anti-social working hours.
Choosing Medical Schools - There are 32 UK medical schools offering undergraduate medicine degrees of 5 or 6 years duration (6 of these schools are in London). You will need to become familiar with the course content, structure, and teaching methods used at the medical schools you might consider applying to.
- To help in this, look through the prospectuses in the Sixth Form Library or online careers library.
- The UCAS website is an excellent gateway to begin the process. Choose “Course Search – Medicine”, which will list all medicine courses available, and follow links directly to each university and medical school. The Entry Profile “EP” symbol will lead you to further information about each course. A lot of excellent information can be found here on issues such as entry requirements, what this course will offer you and what attributes are particularly sought in applicants.
Some individual medical schools’ websites have links to current students’ questions and comments boards that often have interesting discussions such as “How I chose my medical school”, or “What is problem based learning really like?”
Open Days
Visit medical schools prior to application where possible. Open day dates and details are generally published in early spring. It is advisable to check the booking requirements for open days and apply early if possible.
Research
Begin by doing some reading on what it is like to be a doctor. Find out about the medical schools themselves, and also the current issues in the wider biosciences world. Keep up to date with current medical, public health and NHS issues in the news and consider the ethical questions involved. Read the Student British Medical Journal, this is available in most Libraries or by registering online free through www.student.bmj.com
Communication
Talk to everyone you can find with any involvement or connection with medicine. Such contacts might be family or friends, but also include those people you meet when on relevant work experience. Find out what current concerns your contacts have about the NHS and about the status of patient care. Investigate insiders’ opinions of the highs and the lows of the work they do.
Introductory courses about Medicine
There are a number of specialist courses designed to support students who are applying for Medicine. These fee-charging courses vary in price and are not compulsory for a successful application to medical school.
Work Experience
Relevant work experience is almost essential for a successful medical school application. Admissions tutors are aware that such work experience is not always easy to obtain, so anyone considering medicine is advised to start this process early. Useful experience can be gained from within the wide range of fields of health and social care. Previous candidates have found valuable placements in hospitals, general practice, work with the elderly, community service, and voluntary work with the disabled and with small children. The ability to communicate effectively is an important aspect of medicine, so it is important to demonstrate the ability to deal with the general public and any section of the community. Even part-time holiday or weekend work in retail or catering is seen as relevant because a sustained experience of working with people in a wide variety of contexts is valued by admissions tutors.
Entry Requirements
The specific entry requirements of each medical school may be a determining factor in the selection of where to apply. These pointers are for general guidance only.
www.medschools.ac.uk/studying-medicine/making-an-application/entry-requirements
Check individual medical schools for up to date information, specific variations, and exceptional circumstances.
- Most of the offers made by the medical schools will now require AAA grades, with Cambridge generally asking for A*AA.
- One A level subject must be Chemistry, one other science or Maths A level subject is required (recent statistics suggest >90% have Biology as well).
- The third A level subject may not have to be a Science/Maths subject, but check in such cases if there is a requirement for a third maths/science subject to AS level e.g. Cambridge.
- Some universities positively prefer a non science third or fourth A level e.g. UCL.
- A university’s minimum requirements for GCSE grades are usually declared A, B or C but as entry for medicine is highly competitive, several GCSEs with grades at A or A* has been the normal requirement for applicants.
The individual medical school websites should also be checked for any recent changes in entrance requirements.
www.ukmedicalschools.com – provides information and a forum for all aspects of applying for medicine.
Personal Statement
There will be general guidance material and workshops available from your Progression Module Studies but it is worth bearing in mind the following:
- Include descriptions of what you observed and learned during your different work experiences (not only medical procedures or treatments, but also about challenges of working with people).
- You need to demonstrate you have a realistic view about medical training and clinical practice.
- You should be able to show you are committed to caring for others.
- Find ways to give examples of using your communication skills, ability to work effectively within a team and also accept responsibility. If you are applying for another course as well as medicine, you should still focus your personal statement on medicine, as this is your main objective.
- Write it in concise but fluent English, with ideas well developed and avoid repetition.
- Spelling should be perfect – use spell check but also get someone else to check. The same applies to punctuation and grammar.
Admissions Tests
You should start preparing now. Guidance notes, practice sessions and questions are available on the UCAT and BMAT websites. It is essential that you practise the tests and become familiar with the type of questions, format and time constraints. Some parts of the tests will be weighted differently, so ensure you know the weightings so they can focus their time accordingly. The best preparation is to complete the practice papers under examination conditions. UCAT reports that the most successful candidates spend around 21 to 30 hours preparing for the test.
Make sure you know the entry requirements in full for your chosen course and institution.
In all cases it remains the responsibility of each individual candidate to ensure they are correctly registered for the correct admissions tests. Universities will not retrospectively waive the requirement to take the admissions tests where candidates miss a deadline by mistake. Please note you may only be able to sit the admissions tests once in any test cycle – ie. No resits if you are not happy with your score..
UCAT
The UK Clinical Aptitude Test for entry into Medicine and Dentistry is required by some universities www.ucat.ac.uk/
It is an online test taken at specified test centres, which are generally those used for the theory driving tests. You must register yourself for UCAT, and it is best to do this as early as possible to ensure that you find a test centre and date which is suitable. It is highly recommended that a test date is booked before mid-September so that you can change the institutions after your test result if necessary. Late registration generally means a higher entry fee. Find out your key dates, when:
- Registration opens
- Bursary applications processed from
- Testing begins
- Registration deadline
- Bursary application deadline
- Exemption application deadline
- Last testing date
- UCAS application deadline
Nearest Test Centre
Pearson Professional Centres-UK, Stirling House, Station Business Park, Holgate Park Drive, York, YO26 4GB (Tel: 0800 731 4359)
BMAT
The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) is a subject-specific admissions test taken by applicants to certain medicine, veterinary medicine and related courses at the institutions listed below. The Test is taken early in November. The BMAT is owned and administered by Cambridge Assessment www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt
Try papers and see specimen answers: http://www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/bmat/Test+Preparation
GAMSAT
The Graduate Medical Schools Admission Test applies if your first degree is in a non-scientific field of study and you have submitted an application for admission to one of the graduate-entry programs. A science degree is not a prerequisite and academic excellence in the humanities and social sciences is encouraged and recognised.
Specific tests and questionnaires are also set by some individual universities after their receipt of the UCAS application e.g. Nottingham has an online questionnaire as part of its selection procedures.
Interviews
Research the type of interview used by the medical schools you are applying to and be aware of the format. Some medical schools release the MMI questions prior to the interview and you may wish to look at these beforehand.
You need to be self-reflective and think about your skills, abilities and interests in advance of the interview. All medical schools are different so you should know why you have applied to that medical school and be able to talk about it.
It is important to start to practice answering questions at home. You can also use the Medical Schools Council’s interview preparation website to prepare here: https://www.medschools.ac.uk/umbraco/mscinterviewprep.co.uk
It is expected that medical schools will continue to use MMIs, if they have done so in the past. Many medical schools have not made a final decision around online interviews. It is possible that they will move interviews online, depending on the social distancing rules in place and the ability to travel. These details will be confirmed in due course.
General
NHS Careers A very comprehensive site covering all aspects of working in the NHS. Careers can be researched via A-Z, or in 10 related health areas or via age group of user.
A website focused at careers information for 14-19 year olds. The site includes careers listed by A-Z, personality tests and case studies.
The workshop has been running residential pre-university taster courses since 1980. The 3 medicine courses are Medlink, Medisix and Medsim, and there are nursing and physiotherapy courses as well. Information about all these courses is on the website and you can book a place online.
Medicine
Medical Schools Council Look in useful resources to find links to all medical schools, graduate entry courses, foundation courses and A-Z information.
General Medical Council Go to UK medical students for information on medical school listings.
Royal College of Psychiatrists There is excellent careers information aimed at school leavers. The very detailed careers advice covers entry to medical school and an interesting list of specialisms within psychiatry.
British Medical Council You can read the online publication Becoming a Doctor on this website. It covers courses entry requirements for medical schools, funding arrangements, career structure and lists useful contacts and resources
Nursing and midwifery
Nursing careers in NHS This is a link to the NHS careers website covering an explanation of all different types of nursing. Links on the left cover funding, training and entry requirements.
Nurse and midwifery applications
All applications are now made through UCAS .
Allied medical professions
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy There is lots of useful information on physiotherapy, career FAQs and a list of UK qualifying degree courses.
Society of Radiographers This website has an excellent careers section which can be accessed from the homepage, covering what radiographers do, the skills required and relevant course information.
Radiography Careers You will find even more detailed careers information on this companion radiography website.
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Go to About SLTs to discover what speech and language therapists do and to find a list of universities and colleges offering relevant qualifying courses.
British Association of Occupational Therapists There is information on what occupational therapists do and where you can train in the OT. You can also download a useful online Careers Handbook.
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain Go to A Career in Pharmacy on the homepage, for information on what pharmacists do, entry requirements for degree courses and what topics you will study when your work towards a pharmacy degree.
The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists The work of podiatrists is much wider than many people realise and this site gives an excellent overview of what podiatrists do, where they work, how to train and information on related careers as a podiatry assistant and an orthotic technician.
British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists Look in the Careers Information section for answers to FAQs about prosthetics (artificial limbs) and orthotics (braces).
The College of Optometrists This covers the different types of eye care professionals, the work they do, entry requirements and training.
British Academy of Audiology Go to about audiology for a helpful careers article which includes relevant training courses, routes into training and a list of institutions.
British Dietetic Association If you are interested in people, food, science and medicine then becoming a dietician could be the career for you. Go into the Train to be a Dietician section to find out what the career involves, how to qualify and where you can study. Look for the leaflet called The Work of Registered Dieticians which can be downloaded in the What is a Dietician? section.
Specific tests and questionnaires are also set by some individual universities after their receipt of the UCAS application e.g. Nottingham has an online questionnaire as part of its selection procedures.
Interviews
Commitment, motivation and communication skills are very important. It is almost certain you will be asked “Why do you want to be a Doctor?”- begin to think about it now.
- Find out about the sort of interview you will face and what interviewers will be looking for - ask about this at Open Days. Check UCAS Entry Profiles etc.
- It is essential that you can show your interviewers that you know about their course in particular, and why it attracts you. Some universities will ask candidates to complete a written task on the day of their interview. E.g. KCL, Leicester.
www.medical-interviews.co.uk/Resources/QuestionsMS.htm
Offers
Although medical applications have an early application deadline this does not mean that you will necessarily receive offers quickly or even hear from their universities for a considerable time. Some medical schools offer interviews quite late in the cycle (February or even March). Consequently, it is not unusual for decisions from medical schools to be in late March or even into April. Some applications may go onto waiting lists leaving the student uncertain until a very late date. This is nerve-racking, especially when non medicine candidates may have heard from all of their universities whilst you are still waiting. Nerves of steel and patience are crucial!